Man Seen Playing ‘War Games’ Wounds Neighbor

A Topanga Canyon man dressed in battle fatigues wounded a neighbor with a shotgun blast Friday and escaped into an area where he has been seen playing “war games,” sheriff’s deputies said.

When a search failed to locate Philip Capps, 28, a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of shooting William O’Brien, also 28, at the victim’s home in the 19000 block of Montau Drive. O’Brien, wounded in his left side and leg, was later reported in stable condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

For a time Friday, deputies thought Capps might have barricaded himself in his residence in the 1100 block of N. Topanga Canyon Boulevard. A special weapons team surrounded the house, fired tear gas inside and entered, but Capps was not there.

The shooting apparently stemmed from an argument between the two men, deputies said.